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Chapter 3
A.J. led the group down towards the beach. Brian and Nick weren't far behind him, but they seemed to be goofing around too much to care that he was talking to them.
"Hey!" He stopped, allowing the others to catch up. Now that he had their attention, he continued. " Do you guys see that?" A.J. motioned toward something moving out in the water.
"Maybe it's a shark!" Brian squealed in a high-pitched voice as he clung to A.J.'s shoulder.
"Get off! There are no sharks out here." He pushed Brian away.
"There could be." Nick suddenly became more serious.
"Not that close, right?" Kevin answered. "And anyway, sharks don't do the backstroke!" He laughed, pointing to the figure in the water that was clearly now doing laps. Brian smiled and walked ahead, followed by the others. "It's a person, let's go say hi…"
The five stopped at the shoreline where a pile of clothes sat. Obviously girls' clothes, A.J. bent down and picked up a bright red tank top. "Good taste." He said with a little mysgivious grin.
Kevin walked closer. "Put that down!" He smacked A.J.'s hand causing him to release it. But A.J. was now too pre-occupied with staring at the figure; to even notice that Kev had hit him.
The person obviously saw them standing there and swam closer. It was a girl. She stood up and wadded through the water until it was to her ankles, revealing her in her two-piece. Nick noticed how tan and toned her body was, he suddenly felt a little intimidated by her; she was so beautiful.
Now only feet away, she stared straight at the Boys, squinting her eyes. She pulled her dark brown hair out of her face and took a step forward. Five sets of eyes simply stared at her. She had recognized the Boys right away, but was reluctant to speak.
The quietness was becoming very uncomfortable though, so she raised her hand, "Hello." She extended her arm, and Kevin being the closest; was the first to grab it.
"Hi…um…" he just stared at her. Nick let out a chuckle from behind, but no one seemed to notice.
" My name is Sierra Page." she took a deep breath, " You're… Kevin, right?" she smiled.
"Yeah," he said, a little more relaxed. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She smiled again.
A.J. pushed his way forward. " I'm A.J. McLean. It's a pleasure." He grinned as he leaned in closer to kiss her hand. She could feel her cheeks flush, so she smiled.
"Yes, I know…" she paused, trying not to stare at his intense brown eyes. "…And you're Brian, and you're Nick, and you're Howie, right?" Her voice was light and cheery as she pointed to each of the last three Boys in turn.
The six smiled in unison. She couldn't help but look at Brian; he was so much more attractive than in the pictures she had seen. They all were. But there was something about Brian that she couldn't get enough of. He was amazing; his look made her knees feel weak. She suddenly realized that she had been staring at him all this time. Her cheeks blushed once again.
Brian, noticing her eyes on him, gave her a shy grin in return. Very embarrassed, Sierra looked away; then she spoke up, "Well…I've got to be getting back now" she motioned towards the beach house next to their own.
Nick's face lit up. "Oh, you live there?" He asked, obviously intrigued.
"No No… I'm just staying the summer there with a couple of friends."
Howie managed to push between Brian and Kevin. "We're staying here too, just for two weeks though." He added, pointing towards their own house.
"Wow! Maybe I'll see you guys around then; it's a pretty small beach." She giggled, barely able to keep it cool.
"Yep." Brian agreed, smiling.
Nick mumbled something, looking at Brian, and the two grinned, focusing their glances back upon Sierra.
"Yeah…so…I'm gonna go now. It was nice meeting all of you." She prayed they couldn't hear how fast her heart was beating.
"Bye Sierra." Kevin gave another warm smile.
"…Yeah…bye…Sierra." Howie and Nick added in unison.
"Likewise." Brian smiled. A.J., standing next to her, breathed a goodbye.
Seconds passed and she still stood in the same spot. The Boys exchanged confused glances. When suddenly, she spoke again.
" Um…" she laughed. " A.J., I'm gonna need my clothes back."
A.J., a little confused, looked down and realized that he stood over the crumpled pile of clothing. " Uhh…sorry…" He said with a little grin. He bent down and picked up her shirt and towel; with the other guys laughing around him.
A.J. ignored them and handed Sierra the clothes. She wrapped the towel around her waist and held the tank top in her hand. Giving everyone a quick last smile, she turned and climbed up the beach back to the house. She could still feel their eyes on her, and turned around. Sure enough, she saw all five still staring up at her.
Seeing her turn around, A.J. pushed past the other guys and made his way up to where she stood. "Hello again," he smiled, joining her atop the sand. She couldn't help but smile as he raised his eyebrows in questioning.
" Would you like to stop over sometime? Ya know we could all have dinner, or go swimming, or something." Eye brows still arched, he stared at her; waiting for a response. " …I mean…your friends could come too…the more the merrier!" he laughed. A.J. couldn't keep his eyes off of her; he hoped that she would flirt back with him.
"Actually, my friends aren't here yet. I'm pretty much the only one here till tomorrow," she paused, " I'm picking them up at the airport." she smiled and blushed, catching his eyes looking her up and down.
For the moment, he shook the previous thoughts out of his head. "Ya know," he persisted, " we got this cool game room thing at our place." He gave her a sweet grin, tilting his head. " Since you're all alone, you want to come hang with us?"
She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear. She had heard him talk at interviews before, but his voice was truly amazing in-person. It was so raspy and very sexy. He was so forward, but how could she say no to those sad puppy -dog eyes that he made with a frown on his face. Sierra couldn't help but laugh.
" Come-on girl, it'll be fun!" He reassured her. " Pleeeassse???"
"…Ok…" she managed to mouth out the words through her laughter.
"What's so funny?!" Accused A.J. with the arch of an eyebrow. He straightened up.
"…Nothing…" she took a deep breath and looked up at him. " maybe I'll stop over later."
" Maybe?! " he laughed along with her this time, glad she had agreed. He gave her an intrigued smile as she backed away.
"Yeah! …Well…till then!" She waved over her shoulder as she walked
up the hill and into the house.
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